


Did I Say That Out Loud?

by PaxCallow



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, birthday stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 15:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12213909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaxCallow/pseuds/PaxCallow
Summary: Max stage whispers and has a lot of strong emotions in a short amount of time. Also he's turning 13.





	Did I Say That Out Loud?

**Author's Note:**

> FIC FROM A GREAT TUMBLR ASK PROMPT THAT IS NOW HERE. THIS ONE IS EVEN FLUFFIER THAN THE TUMBLR ONE!
> 
> title a reference to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mSDLNz4nmM)

                Max shakes his head, laughing. “What, like with a trench coat? Am I gonna get on your shoulders?”

                Johnny rolls his eyes. “ _No,_ Max, duh, don’t be ridiculous. It’s way simpler than that.”

                “Did _you_ just call strategically getting on someone’s shoulders ridiculous?” Max tracks Johnny as he stands up from beside him on his dining room floor.

                “I look like a handsome, cherubic little angel. There is no sight-gifted movie theatre personnel that is gonna think I’m old enough for an R-rated movie.”

                “What I’m sayin’ is, ya keep thinking we gotta sneak in at all. But _we’re_ gonna _be_ sneaked in.”

                Off Max’s inquisitive head-tilt, he continues. He gives a shark-toothy grin and as he speaks, he speaks _faster_ and with more _excited gesticulation._

                “Ollie’s sis’s friend’s bro works at the Mayview movie theatre. We worked it out and I’m totally gonna pay him off to sneak us child-dudes into _Volcano Road: Extreme Violence_ through the back door this Saturday for your birthday _THAT’S_ what we’re doing it’s _HAPPENING!_ ”

                Then he sucks in a big gulp of air and briefly braces his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Max slowly processes what he’s said, and… he feels a little awkward about money being spent on him. As usual.

                “… You don’t have to…” He tugs on one of his hoodie’s drawstrings. “I mean, like, if you gotta pay someone off for us to sneak into this movie, don’t bother…! It’s no big deal.”

                “Well, I know you wanna see this movie. _Don’t_ you?” Max subtly nods. What he really means to say is yes, yes he wants to see it so bad, he wants to see it so bad. “And it’s your birthday!”

                “My birthday is _tomorrow,_ ” he grins, just trying to be difficult. “And tomorrow’s not Saturday, either.”

                “But it’s your birthweek.” Johnny waves his excuses off. Ah, he’s used to Max arguing against everything by this point. He regards Max slyly, shoving his hands into his pockets and tilting his head up just slightly in that typical _we are gonna do some cool stuff_ way as he backpedals toward the kitchen door.

                “And I’m aboutta make you the happiest boy on earth, Muxwell.”

                Suddenly, he cheers, “Snack time!”

                , and on his way across the threshold into the kitchen, he trips and almost eats it. And says a swear word.

                And Max can’t help it.

                It’s a combination of the cool gift and the stupid tripping and the swearing and the little laugh that forms in Max’s chest that makes him take note of the warmth that has built up there over the course of the months and months he’s known Johnny. It’s simple as anything, and it just slips out—

                “Oh my god, I love you.”

                Johnny freezes in the doorway.

                Max’s heart skips a beat when he sees him stop. … No, there’s no way he heard that, right? He said it so low. Oh god, why did he _say that._ Why did he say that _OUT LOUD?_

                Johnny whirls around to look straight at Max. He wears the biggest, most bewildered, brighter-than-the-sun grin on his face. That—it’s still okay, that still might not mean he heard—

                “W-wait, what?”

                **_SCRAMBLE THE JETS._**

                Max claps his hands together and sits up straight, sweating. “HEYY! Y-YEAH SEE WHAT I MEANT BY THAT…” He shifts between like four different nonchalant positions as he speaks, before he just jumps up from the floor and paces toward the table as some sort of convoluted subconscious diversion.

                “WHAT I MEANT—WAS… you _DIDN’T_ hear—what ha-happened was…” Johnny steps cautiously toward the table and leans on one of the chairs. His eyes are wide and they are _trained_ on Max. “I didn’t say… wh-what I said. I didn’t say that.”

                Johnny’s brow raises a bit and it changes his whole expression into one that reads _Johnny is definitely not buying any of this._

                Max swallows hard. Nope. He definitely heard it. … Screw it. He dug his grave, now he gets to die in it. No sense in digging it deeper!

                He vehemently refuses eye contact. And he bites the bullet: “… I said that.”

                His confession is met with a light laugh from Johnny. His face must be red, it sure feels like it. Damn it. He thought for sure he was past embarrassing himself in front of Johnny. He completely forgot about the L word. F.

                And _yet._ He keeps on fighting a smile, because…

                Johnny puts his hands on Max’s shoulders.

                “You love me, Max?”

                … Because of course he loves him. Well, he’s… he’s thought that before, you know? And he’s sure he’s _felt_ it for much longer, but in his head he’s always managed to shrug it off as ridiculous or overly sappy. Like _this feeling_ wasn’t strong enough for _that word._ Now that he’s said it out loud, though, he feels totally sure of it. Like it’s obvious. Despite everything, that is a great feeling.

                That is not what he says.

                “I’m not repeating myself,” he retorts.

                Johnny just giddily laughs again and he slips his arms around Max, ensnaring him and pulling him in close. Immense, comforting warmth radiates off of him. Max can feel his heart thumping, he’s somehow smiling even bigger than he was before—he just looks… so happy.

                His kneejerk reaction would be to feel embarrassed, to want to snark it off, but pride and love swell in Max’s chest as he acknowledges that he caused that smile.

                To hide from those overwhelmingly positive feelings, he instead elects to bury his face in Johnny’s shoulder until it’s over. Johnny takes this as encouragement to squeeze him tighter.

                “Hey, Mux…” he murmurs. Yep. Max can guess what’s coming.

                “Okay, you don’t—you don’t have t—”

                And Johnny has said this plenty of times, but he always lays it on so thick that now, when he finally says in the soft, quiet voice that he does, it’s never sounded so genuine. “I love you too.”

                “You just _said that,_ ” Max says, and his voice cracks. That sure got the smile out of him.

                “Also happy birthday.”


End file.
